Chudley cat owner warns other pet owners after her cat was shot with an air gun
Chudley is a small town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England between Newton Abbot and Exeter. A cat owner is now warning other pet owners to keep their pets safe after her cat came home with a pellet from an air gun lodged in his nose.
Jack after pellet was removed
Jack is a seven-month-old tabby boy who never wanders far from Karen Corbett’s home. Karen lives at the bottom of Palace Meadow. She was shocked when Jack came home injured. She also has Jack’s brother, who is fine.
Karen stated in an interview with Devon Live
“I usually get them in in the evenings and last night my friend let them in at 5 pm. Jack came in and curled up and went to sleep. He then woke me up at 3 am this morning by lying on my chest, something he never does. Someone must know something. Not that many people have air guns here and someone must have noticed if someone has been going in and buying a load of pellets.”
Jack was rushed to his vet and the pellet was removed under anesthesia. At first, the vet tried to remove it without Jack being sedated but that didn’t work out too well. The pellet was removed and Jack was put on antibiotics.
It’s believed someone had to look down the barrel of the gun to shoot him at the angle the pellet went in. Karen says her cat is lucky because half an inch up and it would have entered through his eye and into his brain. She’s keeping Jack inside while he recovers from his injury.
Since Jack didn’t appear to be in a lot of pain, Karen believes his face went numb where the pellet struck him. She says a lot of horrible things are going on now in Chudleigh and believes Jack was used for target practice.
The shooting has been reported to Devon and Cornwall Police and anybody with information is asked to call 101 quoting crime reference 115466-18.
A photo showing the pellet wound can be viewed on the source article here.
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Things appear so much more relaxed in the UK when it comes to cats. We hear of multiple abuse cases daily in the U.S. while in the UK not so much. Guns are looked on differently in the UK than they are in the U.S. I’m fortunate my cats don’t want to go outside. They have plenty of entertainment with the circle toys and cat trees. I’d be worried to death if I had cats who live outside.
We have plenty of cruelty & neglect here, cats aren’t seen by the media as so worthy of reporting about.
UK culture is changing, but glacially slowly. It is only in the last ten years that commercially available cat containment fencing has appeared. It isn’t cheap either.
Our culture of allowing our cats to free roam at will, may still be possible in more remote rural areas, but there are still threats from those who flout the law and hunt with dogs. Cat haters are everywhere.
We live in a village, we had to learn the hard way. Twenty nine years ago, our cats could free roam safely. Today it is a very different story.
These air guns are only purchased to injure or kill wildlife & companion animals. Adults buy them for children to use.
It is time they were banned. Our governments never care one whit about animal life.
I hope Jack recovers well and does not suffer lasting harm.
Telling us to keep our companion animals inside a home at all times is a little like telling women never to go out alone, lest they are attacked.
UK culture is very different to the USA. I agree with confining cats to secure gardens where they can exercise and stay relatively safe than when free roaming.
Wherever guns of any type are permitted, humans will use them to kill and maim – any being of any species.